Left Right Bible Story Game – Passages to Read Aloud

Abram and Lot Part Ways (Genesis 13)

Miss Dottie is reading for the Thursday Bible study in Willow Bend. This story is from Genesis, chapter 13, and its two directions are in the passage itself. Pass your gift one seat on each direction you hear.

Abram LEFT Egypt and went up into the South with his wife and all that he had, and Lot went with him. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. He journeyed on as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, and there he called on the name of the Lord. (Genesis 13:1-4)

Lot also had flocks, herds and tents, and there was no room LEFT: the land was not able to bear them living together. There was strife between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. (Genesis 13:5-7)

Abram said to Lot, "Please, let there be no strife between you and me, for we are relatives. Is not the whole land before you? If you go to the LEFT hand, then I will go to the RIGHT. Or if you go to the RIGHT hand, then I will go to the LEFT." (Genesis 13:8-9)

Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the plain of the Jordan, well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord. So Lot chose the plain for himself and traveled east, and RIGHT there the two of them parted. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tent as far as Sodom. (Genesis 13:10-12)

After Lot had LEFT, the Lord said to Abram, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever." Abram moved his tent, came to live by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord. (Genesis 13:14-18)

That is the story, the Thursday Bible study. Abram let Lot choose first, and RIGHT now the choosing here is over too: the gift in your hands is yours.

How it works

A left right Bible story game is a gift swap run by a reading: everyone passes a wrapped gift at each LEFT or RIGHT. Press Start: give me 3 words to put your group in the first story.

Read the full guide

How to play

Seat three or more people in a circle, each holding a small wrapped gift. One person reads slowly. At each LEFT or RIGHT in capitals, every gift moves one seat that way. After the last line, everyone keeps the gift in their hands.

Pick a passage

Abram and Lot Part Ways is Genesis 13, where Abram offers Lot the left hand or the right. The Net Full of Fish is John 21:1-14 and The Good Samaritan is Luke 10:25-37. Each takes about 3 minutes. Jonah and the Fish covers all four chapters in about 5 minutes.

Genesis 13:9, John 21:6 and Jonah 4:11 say left or right themselves, so those passes come straight from the verse.
Each paragraph ends with its verses in parentheses. Skip them aloud, or have the room look each one up afterward.
No gifts? Send one prize round the circle. Whoever holds it at the last line keeps it.

Questions and answers

Which Bible stories work for a left right game?

Passages where people travel or choose a way, like the four on this page. The nativity is on the Christmas page.

Are the stories word for word from the Bible?

No. Each is a retelling adapted from the World English Bible, a public domain translation: shortened, with LEFT and RIGHT worked in.

How many passes are in each Bible story?

Abram and Lot has 9 passes, The Net Full of Fish and The Good Samaritan 7 each, and Jonah and the Fish 15.

Does anyone end up with their own gift?

Not in a circle of three or more: every story ends one seat to the left or right of where each gift started.

All 4 stories

Show the list

Abram and Lot Part Ways (Genesis 13) About 3 minutes. LEFT 5, RIGHT 4. Abram offers Lot the left hand or the right, in the words of Genesis 13:9. Gifts end one seat left of their start. Asks for 3 words: 1 × name, 1 × group, 1 × town.
The Net Full of Fish (John 21) About 3 minutes. LEFT 3, RIGHT 4. A night with no fish, then the net cast where John 21:6 says. Gifts end one seat right of their start. Asks for 3 words: 1 × name, 1 × group, 1 × town.
The Good Samaritan (Luke 10) The parable, about 3 minutes. LEFT 4, RIGHT 3. A priest, a Levite and a Samaritan on the Jericho road. Gifts end one seat left of their start. Asks for 3 words: 1 × name, 1 × group, 1 × town.
Long: Jonah and the Fish (Jonah 1 to 4) Long, about 5 minutes. LEFT 7, RIGHT 8. The storm, the fish, Nineveh and the vine, to the last verse. Gifts end one seat right of their start. Asks for 3 words: 1 × name, 1 × group, 1 × town.

The kinds of words the game asks for

Name a first name; a made-up one is fine. More examples: Sir Reginald, Professor Plum, Doctor Noodle.

How these stories were written: All four are retellings adapted from the World English Bible, a public domain translation (https://ebible.org/eng-web/GEN13.htm, JON01.htm to JON04.htm, JHN21.htm and LUK10.htm, checked 2026-10-08): shortened, with LEFT and RIGHT worked in, so do not read them as that translation. Pass counts are counted by script from the final text. Licence: Adapted from the World English Bible (public domain).